The Come Back
by Lily Hanson
Summary: The Rangers have lost six energems, but the fight's not over. They're staging a come back - one they hope Sledge and Fury won't see coming.
1. Energem Retrieval Mission

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge. This story is fan-made._

The museum was empty and dark. All staff had been sent home hours ago, when the first attacks rained down on the city. Kendall knew the attacks were coming towards the museum and couldn't bring herself to ask her staff to stay. She would have been putting them in danger.

The power was also out in the museum, leaving nothing but the emergency lights on, but even they were flickering. The whole city had lost power hours ago from the attack, and no one was attempting to restore it.

With Sledge, Fury, Poisandra, Curio, Wrench and their viviks walking the streets, blasting and killing anything that moved, no one dared. They preferred to live in the dark, and Kendall couldn't blame them. She would have stayed off the streets too, had she not bonded with the purple energem.

"That should hold," the Prince told her as he finished sealing up the doors. Kendall didn't expect it to hold if the aliens attacked the museum directly, but it would keep out most other threats until then, buying her and Cammy a little more time to finish their work on the Get-Bot. It was taking longer than Kendall expected to get the robot up and running, but she was doing the best she could with the tools she had on hand, Cammy included.

It had been a few days since she had started work on the Get-Bot, and in that time, the Ranger's health had been slowly declining. Their headaches were so bad the lab had been left in the dark long before the city lost power because none of them could stand the light. They could barely get to their feet to use the washroom and wouldn't eat unless force fed. Even then, they wouldn't keep their food down, so Kendall had opted not to feed them anymore. As a result, their energy levels were plummeting, and would continue to do so until their energems were returned to them. Until that time, Kendall, Phillip and Cammy were left to hold down the fort on their own.

"For now," Kendall nodded her head. The Prince turned to her, looking weary.

"We can't just stay in here and hide."

"Right now, it's all we can do," she said. "I'm almost done the Get-Bot."

"And then what?" he asked. "You may be a Ranger, but you're in no condition to fight."

"If everything goes according to plan, I may not have to," Kendall said. "Get-Bot will return the energems to the Rangers and they should be back on their feet soon after that. Between the seven of you, the Zords, as well as the PlesioZord..."

"We can hold Sledge off? For how long?" Phillip asked. "Ms. Morgan, it's clear he's not going to stop until we're defeated..."

"Do you have another idea?" Kendall snapped, feeling her frustration growing. She was tired, she was sore, and she was annoyed that the most she could do right now to help anyone was guide Cammy on how to build the Get-Bot. She was doing the best she could, and while she knew the Prince didn't mean anything by it, his constant questioning of her plans, without a better one of his own, was starting to wear on her last nerve. "Because if so, I would love to hear it, yesterday!"

"I... I do not," the Prince admitted. "But you have to agree, this is not looking good..."

"Kendall?" Cammy called, using the flashlight Kendall had given her to find her way around the museum. She held up a phone, "Jon wants to talk to you."

"Shit," Kendall muttered and took the phone from Cammy to speak with her father. She should have expected this call. Her parents were out of town, but an attack like this on Amber Beach was likely to spread to all four corners of the country if not the world. They were bound to hear about the danger their daughters were in. While Kendall walked off to try and put her parents mind at ease, the Prince looked down at Cammy.

"How is the Get-Bot coming along?"

"I just do what Kendall... yells at me."

"She does not mean it," the Prince assured Cammy as he put his hand on her shoulder. "She is just... frustrated, like the rest of us."

"I'm doing my best."

"She knows."

"We're not winning yet, are we?"

"The further we fall, the more amazing it will be when we do win," the Prince smiled at Cammy and seemed to lift her spirits for now, but when there was a loud bang and the ground shook, Cammy screwed her eyes shut, covered her ears and started to tear up. The Prince took her in his arms and carried her back down to the lab. There, Kendall had just gotten off the phone with her parents. She saw Cammy was shaken and took the girl from the Prince's arms. She let Cammy sit on her lap and hugged her tight.

"We're almost there," she told her. "Get-Bot is almost ready. You've just got to be brave a little longer. Can you do that?"

"I want to go home," Cammy muttered.

"We will, I promise," Kendall told her and set her down on her feet. She guided Cammy to the work bench and encouraged her to keep going.

Hours later, the Get-Bot was finally complete. Cammy was rubbing her fingers; they were tired from all the work she had done to help Kendall. All the little screws and the fine adjustments strained her overworked hands. However, as Cammy looked down at the robot before her, she couldn't help but smile faintly.

"You did it," Kendall said softly, wrapping her arm around Cammy while they watched the Prince hide his energem inside the lab. Now that the Get-Bot was complete, it was time to test out the machine. With any luck, it should be able to identify and retrieve the Prince's graphite energem without an operator. This would free up Kendall and the Prince for battle. Kendall's hope for an autonomous machine was that Sledge and Fury would never expect anything was going on in the ship if they were battling against the only two Rangers with an energem.

Once the Prince hid his energem, making sure to bury it under a piece of cloth and behind some books, Kendall turned the Get-Bot on. Right away it rolled off in search of the graphite energem. While it did a couple of laps around the lab, it eventually made it way to the energem. With an extendable arm it reached onto the table where the Prince had hidden the stone, manoeuvred around the books, picked up the cloth and then took the energem out from underneath. Once it had its hand on the stone, the arm retreated into the body, shielding the energem, and the Get-Bot swiftly made its way back to the Prince.

"We're on our way," Kendall said with a smile as she looked down at Cammy. "We're gonna start winning."

"Once we figure out a way to get the Get-Bot onto Sledge's ship," the Prince told the girls.

"Transport pods have been landing in the city all day," Kendall informed the prince, showing the energy signals on her map. "We've just got to find one, set the Get-Bot inside and send the transport pod back."

"I can do that," Cammy offered, but the Prince and Kendall looked to her with deep frowns. However, it was just for a moment. Neither could offer to take her place, as they had to be on the battle field to protect each other. Neither was free to do anything with the Get-Bot.

"Are you sure?" the Prince asked, lowering himself so he could look Cammy in the eyes. She turned to the Get-Bot, worry etched on her face, but she nodded her head.

"No, but... I can. I have to."

"Not alone," Kendall, Phillip and Cammy heard Chase say and turned to where he had been laying in his cot. He was now pushing himself up, trying to get out of bed. Cammy looked confused as she watched the black Ranger. Phillip was impressed Chase seemed able to hold himself up.

Kendall raced to Chase's side, and when she learned she couldn't get him to lie back down, she stayed next to him, letting him lean on her. He was clearly in quite a bit of pain, squinting his eyes because of the light coming from the emergency lamps and Kendall's computers. He could barely stand on his own, but he seemed determined to do so anyways.

"Chase..."

"It was bad enough letting Cammy go off on her own when she had the purple energem," Chase said. "There's no way we're letting her go anywhere without one."

"And what are you going to do about that?" the Prince asked.

"You want to put the Get-Bot in a transport pod. If we find one close enough to Sledge or Fury, we might be close enough to our energems to get some strength back," Chase suggested. "We can help..."

"No way," Kendall shook her head. "You're basing this on pure speculation. If this plan of yours doesn't work..."

"Aren't we doomed anyway?" Chase asked. He turned to Kendall, looking her in the eyes as much as he could. "There's no way either of us are letting Cammy head out onto a battle field by herself. If getting close to the energems doesn't help us, maybe Sledge or Fury will be too busy finishing us off that Cammy can get the Get-Bot into the transport pod and she can get away."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Shelby said as she too rose from her cot and used the nearby wall to steady herself. Koda was up next, with Tyler, Ivan and Riley right behind him. Each struggled, but managed to get to their feet and none seemed willing to lie back down.

"I can do this by myself," Cammy insisted but Ivan shook his head.

"You can, but you will not."

"But guys..."

"Cammy, we're not letting you face Sledge or Fury alone," Chase said, leaving Kendall's side so he could kneel before Cammy. He placed his hand on her shoulder and forced himself to smile through the pain. "You did your job. You kept an eye on Kendall, you found the purple energem and reunited it with Kendall, you healed the PlesioZord and you brought us home."

"And she built the Get-Bot," Riley added, to which Chase nodded his head.

"You've done more than enough. But we're the Power Rangers. It's up to us to step it up again. Kendall and the Prince can handle whatever fight is out there. The rest of us will keep you safe."

"But..."

"Best case scenario: we're close enough to our energems that we get some of our strength back," Chase smiled. "I'm sure our chargers have just enough juice in them for a morph. We'll hold the bad guys off."

"But if they kill you, there's no point in getting the energems back!" Cammy shouted. "You'll all be dead and..."

"You get the energems back to Keeper. I'm sure he'll find a way to get the remaining two," Tyler told her. Cammy's eyes started to water and she shook her head.

"But I don't want..."

"Dead is only the worst case scenario," Chase tried to assure her. "But Cammy, you need to do this. For us, for the planet..."

"If Sledge or Fury keep those energems, there's no telling how many people he'll kill," Shelby added. "Cammy, you need to let us help you. I promise, one way or another, it's going to work out."

Koda brought the Get-Bot over, placing it in the eight year old's hands. Cammy sniffed as she took her invention. No matter what she did, she had to get the Get-Bot into a transport pod. She couldn't stop the Rangers if they decided to follow her. She could try to outrun them so they lost her and couldn't risk their lives.

But then she wouldn't know where to find them once she was done. She wouldn't know if they were dead or alive. If they left the lab, she had to keep them close.

"Dammit," she muttered.

"Language, please," Kendall scolded her. Cammy wiped away her tears and looked to her friends.

"Fine," she said. "But I don't like this."

"Ms. Morgan and I will lead," the Prince announced. "With any luck, we'll draw the monsters towards us, allowing the rest of you access to one of the transport pods."

"Dump the Get-Bot and then get out," Kendall told Cammy and then looked to the other Rangers. "Don't go after your energems. Don't try to help us fight Sledge, Fury, Poisandra or even the viviks. Get back to the lab as soon as you can."

"We protect Kendall," Koda promised Cammy, but Kendall shot him a look.

"Please, guys," she begged them all. "Just... look after yourselves. And if you're going to protect anyone..."

"Kendall," Cammy insisted, but Kendall shook her head.

"Protect Cammy."

"But..."

"No buts," Kendall said. She removed her arm from the sling and collected her energem from the crystal bed before stepping into the elevator. She wanted to look back and promise Cammy and the Rangers she would do everything she needed to come back home, but she couldn't bring herself to look at their worried faces. It was hard enough to leave.

Fortunately, the Prince spoke for her. As the elevator doors closed to take her upstairs, he stayed behind. He collected his energem as well and then smiled at the Rangers.

"Your voyage to New Zealand may be over, but I travelled all this way to keep Kendall out of harm's way," he told them all, but looked to Cammy, Chase and Koda in particular. "I assure you: I will not come home without her. In return, I ask the seven of you all make it home in one piece, but without the Get-Bot."

"Seven pieces," Riley said with a little teasing smirk.

"Right," the Prince nodded. He walked into the elevator. "Wait until Ms. Morgan and I have engaged the monsters before you leave the lab. Remain cautious. We can always find a new way to retrieve the energems. However, the seven of you are irreplaceable."


	2. Intercepted

Cammy felt lucky; well, as lucky as she could as she walked through a deserted, broken city. The Rangers appeared to grow stronger as they moved, looking for a transport pod that would be suitable to place the Get-Bot. It seemed as they neared the battle field, where Kendall and the Prince were locked in a battle against Sledge and the power of six energems, the Rangers were getting stronger. Just like with the PlesioZord, they needed to be near their energems in order to keep their strength up, and the longer they were apart, the weaker they became. Cammy was no longer overly worried for their safety, but getting back home with all her friends was still her top concern.

"We get the Get-Bot into a pod," Tyler said. "We make it back to the lab and we call Ms. Morgan and the Prince back."

"We fight," Koda insisted, but Ivan shook his head, patting the caveman on the back.

"You heard Ms. Morgan's orders. She wants us back at the lab."

"But... we protect Kendall..."

"She's bonded to an energem, Koda," Shelby reminded him. "She's one of us. You don't need to worry as much anymore."

"Can we not talk about Kendall," Cammy asked, looking up at her friends. "Can we just do what we need to do?"

"Sounds perfect to me," Chase nodded. "See any pods nearby?"

"Not yet. Maybe soon."

-Dino-Charge-

Kendall was thrown off her feet and into a pile of rubble. She was still morphed, but just barely. She lifted her head, shook the cobwebs and then looked over at Sledge. He was laughing as he fought with the Prince.

His size and strength alone made him a fearsome warrior. From Keeper, Kendall had heard all about how Sledge had captured or killed some of the most dangerous criminals in the universe. He was a monster to be feared, and that was without the power of the energems on his side.

The only advantage she had was that the six energems in his possession were bonded. As such, they were loyal only to the person they were bonded with and anyone else who tried to use their powers wouldn't get the same strength from them as their hosts. It was the reason why, until now, Sledge and Fury were hesitant to steal energems that had bonded to Rangers. It was unbonded gems that they were after.

However, the strength of a bonded energems in the wrong hands was still no laughing matter. Especially since six of them combined were still strong enough to destroy the city. Kendall was sure the only reason she and the Prince were still alive was because Sledge seemed to enjoy watching them squirm.

The Prince fell to his knees before Sledge and was slashed across the chest by the brute's sword. He remained morphed, but like Kendall, it was just barely so. He fell face first to the ground, clearly hoping he would get a moment of peace to recollect himself and find his second wind.

Wanting to help, Kendall rose to her feet once more. It seemed every time she and the Prince stood up, they both amused and frustrated Sledge. It was clear they were putting up more of a fight than he expected from two Rangers.

"So, you're Keeper's little pet," Sledge taunted, leveling the blaster he carried with him at Kendall. This blaster housed the six energems, and if used would surely be the death of her and the Prince. "You're the reason the Rangers found eight energems, and I had none."

"Not the only reason, but I'll take the credit," Kendall said. She hoped to keep talking. So far, Sledge had only taken her and the Prince on individually. If she talked long enough, maybe the Prince could get up and take the green beast by surprise, turning the tables if just for a moment.

"How does it feel, then?" Sledge asked, showing off his blaster, "Knowing that in spite of all your hard work, I've still ended up with six of you precious energems."

"We've got two," Kendall said. "And there are still two more out there. You haven't won. Not yet."

"That's where you're wrong," Sledge taunted her and placed his finger on the blaster's trigger. Kendall could see he was about to shoot and jumped out of the way, praying he would miss.

And he did. Just as Sledge fired the shot, the Prince was up on his feet. He pushed Sledge, screwing with his aim. Kendall still felt the heat of the blast, as well as the energy, but she was alive. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ms. Morgan..."

"I'm fine," she called out and pushed herself up to her feet, but it was then she realized how she had survived despite being so close to the blast. She was no longer morphed. She stood before Sledge and his blaster, completely vulnerable.

"Too easy," Sledge chuckled and put his finger on the trigger again. The Prince tried to stop him, but Sledge wouldn't be fooled twice. He fired again, but nothing happened.

"What?" he asked, looking to his blaster. "It's powered by six energems. How is it not...?"

He pulled the trigger again and again, but still there was no shot. Kendall breathed a sigh of relief while the Prince rushed to her side.

"This is our cue," he told her. "We've got to retreat now!"

"But Cammy and the others..."

"Ms. Morgan, we're dead if we stay any longer," the Prince told her as he grabbed her by the arm. "We've got to go!"

Kendall pulled her arm free and shook her head, "I can't leave. They haven't called. If we retreat, Sledge might do the same. Someone could see them and..."

"Ms. Morgan, we'll call them back," the Prince grabbed her again and raced off with her while behind them Sledge roared furiously. By some stroke of luck, it seemed the energems had run out of energy. Both the Prince and Kendall knew it was only temporary, though, and knew they needed to take this as their advantage to flee. It was best if they lived to fight another day.

-Dino-Charge-

"There's one!" Cammy said excitedly as she pointed through the trees to a transport pod. It seemed to have been left unattended but the lights were still flashing, meaning there was a good possibility it had enough fuel and power left to head back to Sledge's ship. When the Rangers saw Cammy pointing, they pulled her behind a nearby tree, hoping to keep hidden until they were ready to break cover.

"This is it," Tyler said. "All we've got to do now is get the Get-Bot inside the pod and then make it back to the lab."

"We'll keep watch," Shelby told Cammy. "You bring the Get-Bot over."

Cammy nodded her head and looked beyond the tree to the pod. It seemed like there was no one around. This mission would potentially be the easiest one yet. Still, she was cautious as she broke cover, constantly checking over her shoulder for signs of trouble. She trusted the Rangers could take care of her, but she didn't want to leave anything up to chance.

She did make it to the pod safely and reached over the sides with the Get-Bot to place the machine inside. She tucked it safely into a corner, though it was designed to be unbreakable. Kendall had thought ahead and imagined if the Get-Bot was caught sneaking around Sledge's ship, it could potentially be destroyed. So she had made sure the exterior was tough and the compartment where the energems would be kept would stay locked until she opened it with her key or the energem inside was close to its host. This way, if Sledge, Fury, Poisandra or any other monster did intercept the bot, they would have to come down to Earth and demand her help.

Cammy hadn't been a fan of that idea. She knew they would kill Kendall to get the key to retrieve the energems, but Kendall assured her it wouldn't get to that point. Cammy could only hope she was right.

Once the Get-Bot was secure, Cammy reached for the controls. Keeper had told her what to push and she remembered very clearly the order of the buttons. This would get the device up to Sledge's ship. However, before Cammy could get a chance to push the final button, she heard Koda cry out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the blue Ranger break cover with a loud roar. She wasn't sure what had startled him until a blast knocked her away from the transport pod. She screamed, covering her face, as she was thrown in the air. When she hit the ground, she let out a piercing cry.

"Cammy!" the other Rangers called out and while four of them ran past her to join Koda, Chase knelt by her side, taking her in his arms.

"Let me see," he asked her and tried to take her arm but Cammy refused, cradling it close. "Come on, Cammy, I've got to see. You have to let me look."

Chase wasn't sure if he pried Cammy's arm away from her chest or if she relaxed enough to let him look. Either way, he saw the damage and breathed a sigh of relief to see the arm didn't look broken. However, there was a rather large burn extending from the back of her hand to just above her elbow. Chase hugged Cammy tight and tried to get to his feet. He had to take her away and back to the lab. The others could only hold off Fury for so long.

But as Chase broke into a run, he quickly found himself needing to stop as Poisandra stepped out from behind a tree. Chase looked over his shoulder and seeing his teammates were struggling against Fury, he knew there was no way he could get help for himself and Cammy.

And he couldn't face Poisandra on his own.

"I give," he said, shifting Cammy's weight so he could hold her with one arm and then raised the other. "Just don't hurt her."

"Too late for that," Poisandra smirked and Curio appeared behind her and began to taunt the black Ranger.

"We're going to destroy you! We're going to destroy you!" he sang.

"Destroy me, keep the girl alive," Chase pleaded. "Kendall loves her more than anything. If she's alive, you'll be able to get the other two energems from her. You'll have all eight, without so much as a fuss."

"Eight energems, huh?" Poisandra asked, stroking her chin as she contemplated the offer. "Hmm, that's almost enough for a ring on every finger. But what's the catch, Ranger?"

"You keep me and the kid alive," Chase hugged Cammy close as she tried to protest the offer he was making, insisting she wanted to just head home instead. "At least until you've made the deal with Kendall."

"And you're sure she'll hand them all over?" Poisandra asked. "Just like that?"

"For the kid, she'll give you every energem she's got and more," Chase promised. "Please, just... don't kill us yet."

Poisandra looked to Curio, contemplating the idea for a moment first then she turned back to Chase.

"Fine," she pointed to the transport pod where they had dumped the Get-Bot, "Get inside. We'll take you to the prison. We'll see what my Sledgums has to say about all this."

"Chase..."

"Cammy, it's alright. You're gonna go home, I swear," Chase promised the little girl as he climbed into the transport pod. Poisandra called off Fury's attacks on the Rangers, insisting they had all they needed. As the transport pods lifted into the air and flew off, the remaining Rangers watched with a pit in their stomach.

"I'd rather face Fury again than go back to Ms. Morgan without Cammy," Shelby muttered to the boys, who nodded in agreement. However, they knew they had to get back to the lab as soon as they could, before the pain of their headaches became unbearable.


	3. A Plan To Invade

It was dark in the cell, but Chase used what little light that did come in to get another look at the burn on Cammy's arm. Though it appeared to hurt like hell, the little girl was lucky her injuries weren't worse. She would recover, Chase was sure of that. He knew he just needed to get her home.

He had every intention of getting her back home. When Cammy sniffed both in pain and in fear, he looked to her, a bright smile on his face.

"Kendall's going to fix this up real quick," he told her with nothing but certainty in his voice. He needed Cammy to believe she would go home. He couldn't have her scared or feeling hopeless. "You'll see. She'll fix you up then she'll probably spend a few days yelling at me and the others for letting you get hurt. It'll be a long few days for us, but you'll probably get all the treats and toys you want."

"I want to go home," Cammy told him. Chase nodded his head.

"I know."

"What if they don't..."

"Cam, listen to me," Chase smiled and pulled in her closer, making sure not to brush anything against her arm. "If they want the energems, they know they have to hand you over to Kendall alive. She won't give up the energems for anything less. I know that, she knows that, and those monsters out there, they know it too. Kendall's going to do everything she can to get you back. I promise."

"And you too?"

"That is my hope," Chase nodded his head and suddenly he heard the Get-Bot rolling around. They had been fortunate enough that Poisandra, Fury and Curio were so proud that they had captured Cammy and a Ranger, and that they had a way of getting the remaining two bonded energems, they didn't even notice as the robot rolled out of the transport pod and began its search of the ship for energems. Chase knew it would find them eventually. His headaches were almost completely gone, which meant that his had to be on the ship. "And if we're at all lucky, the rest of the Rangers will get their energems back. I know it doesn't feel like it yet, Cammy, but we're starting to win. You'll see."

-Dino-Charge-

"Kendall, it dangerous!" Koda said as he wrapped his arms around Kendall and tried to hold her back. His headache was growing increasingly worse the longer he was away from his energem, making it harder to keep Kendall from taking off. However, he knew that as soon as he let go, Kendall would run.

He couldn't blame her. They had just broken the news that Fury, Poisandra and Curio had taken Chase and Cammy back to their ship. They expected Kendall to be pissed.

Koda didn't need to hold Kendall for much longer, as eventually she stopped pulling against him and turned around. Suddenly, Koda felt her beating into his chest. Her punches hurt, but he could take it.

"Why did you let them go!" she shouted at Koda and the other Rangers.

"I did overhear Chase," Shelby announced. She didn't think what she would have to say would calm Kendall down, but hoped maybe getting the facts out would get Kendall's mind to focus on a way out of this mess. "He told Poisandra you'd give up the energems to save Cammy. If you were to offer a trade, you can get her back."

"Done," Kendall said without hesitation, but the Prince sat up a little straighter hearing this. He frowned.

"We are down to two," he said. "If we hand them over, we're defenceless. The bad guys win."

"You got a better plan?" Kendall growled.

"The Get-Bot is up on the ship. If we wait for it to get the energems and come back, we'll have more power to storm in there and..."

"Cammy's up on the ship!" Kendall shouted and glared at the Prince, redirecting all her anger at him, allowing Koda time to rest. "The person I love most, just a little, innocent kid is up on Sledge's ship, and you want to wait until we maybe get six energems back before we pull her out."

"We can't trade the graphite and purple energems..."

"Watch me."

"Ms. Morgan, you're letting yourself be controlled by your emotions. Cammy is with Chase. Until we figure something else out, I'm sure he'll keep her safe."

"So you want to leave her up there?"

"We can't," Tyler shook his head. "There's no way we're going to let Chase or Cammy sit up on that ship any longer than they have to..."

"Thank you," Kendall breathed a sigh of relief, but Tyler wasn't done.

"However, Ms. Morgan, the Prince is right. We can't give up two energems."

"We'll give up one," Riley smiled. "One energem, and one fake. With any luck, Sledge will be so excited he's got eight, he won't realize he's been tricked."

"With the remaining energem, someone goes up on the ship, retrieves any energems up there and gets Chase and Cammy out," Tyler finished.

"I will go up on the ship," the Prince offered, but Kendall shook her head.

"If the Get-Bot's up there, it may have some energems. If that's the case, I'll need to unlock it."

"I can bring the Get-Bot down for you."

"I can give Chase his energem," Kendall argued. "If I go, there can be two Rangers. If you go, even with Chase, you're alone."

"Three Rangers," Koda offered himself. "If energems on ship, Koda feel stronger. Help Kendall save friends."

"Four Rangers," Tyler said.

"Six," Ivan and Shelby added, then they both nudged Riley.

"Yeah, yeah, seven," he nodded. "I was just thinking... are we sure we can get the energems while we're up there."

"We're going to have to."

"So I face Sledge alone with a fake energem?" the Prince asked. Kendall looked to him hopefully, wishing he would agree to the plan. While her thoughts were solely on Cammy, she did want to be sure the Prince was comfortable with what he was getting into. She couldn't ask him to risk his life if he felt scared. She could be angry with him, and forever would be, but she wouldn't push him.

"Phillip, please..."

"I'll do it," he nodded. "I just want to be sure I know what I will be doing. And how I will explain your absence to Sledge."

"I can't watch," Kendall shook her head. "It'll be the truth. If we actually had to do the trade... I'd never be able to watch what happened. I've spent over a year trying to find and protect the energems. Handing them over... even for Cammy just doesn't feel right."

"But don't give up the energems right away," Shelby warned the Prince. "We'll need time."

"Not much, though," Kendall said. "If we take the PlesioZord up to the ship, we'll be there in no time. Once we're on, whatever aliens come our way..."

"Destroy," Koda said, smacking his hands together.

"Worse come to worse, I'll take the PteraZord," Ivan said. "If we trigger an alarm, it'll keep some attention on me. This way, should the Prince fail to keep Sledge distracted long enough, they'll have to go through me before they get to the rest of you."

"Ms. Morgan, you can focus on finding Cammy and Chase, if they're still on the ship," Tyler suggested. "The rest of us will find the Get-Bot. That way, if we can't get it back to you in time to morph, we can at least take it back to the PlesioZord and meet you, Chase and Cammy there."

"Sounds like a plan," Kendall nodded her head.


	4. Saving Friends

With her Rangers right behind her, Kendall debarked the PlesioZord and stepped onto Sledge's ship. She was morphed, but the Rangers weren't. However, they claimed to be feeling stronger, which was a good indication that their energems were on board.

Sadly, that meant there was a good chance Sledge was also on board. It was his weapon the energems were powering. Kendall doubted he would be on Earth without them.

"Ms. Morgan," she heard over the Dino Com and answered it quickly; hiding with the Rangers behind a wall so they weren't spotted by any aliens walking by. "I've been at the quarry half an hour. No sign of... anything."

"Keep trying to draw their attention," Kendall told the Prince and looked to the Rangers. "If they still don't show, keep watch over the city. Make sure no one else gets hurt."

The Prince gave a nod and then hung up. Kendall looked to the Rangers, and seeing they seemed to have more energy than they did on Earth, she felt better about letting them go off on their own.

"Please be safe," she begged them. Koda gave her a tight hug, while the others assured her they would do what they could with a promise. Kendall watched them take off and could only hope she would see them again.

She couldn't worry about them anymore. Now that they were gone she had one thought: rescue Cammy and Chase. Kendall had no idea where Sledge would keep his prisoners but figured it had to be somewhere on board the ship and somewhere easily accessible. He used them regularly to attack the Rangers, which meant it would be inconvenient if they weren't close by.

With her sabre in her hand, Kendall walked the halls, listening carefully for any sign of life. If she found herself face to face with some viviks she knew she could take them out. She had been able to do so before an energem had chosen her. As soon as she realized her mission for the energem put her at risk of fighting dangerous intergalactic aliens, Kendall had gotten herself some training. She didn't want to have to rely on a team to keep her safe. She didn't think there would ever be anyone she trusted enough.

Back then, she didn't think she would ever be so lucky. When Keeper first approached her, the thought of having friends, never mind a family was something she would laugh at. The family she was born into had abandoned her. Her father didn't care enough for her to stick around and her mother... Kendall couldn't even say she had done the best she could until she killed herself. Once her marriage was over, Kendall's mother had done nothing but drink. She had never intentionally done anything to hurt her daughter, but never tried to give her the best of anything.

The family she was placed in, Kendall couldn't bring herself to bond with. By the time she found loving parents, she had been too hurt. She was only trying to make it to the age where she could live by herself, hoping that with no one around her, she would never be hurt again. If she didn't let people in, it wouldn't hurt when they left her.

And if she left them first, she wouldn't be abandoned. It was why she had left the Fishers as soon as she graduated high school. She needed to be on her own. Only she could take care of herself.

However, those years were the loneliest. Kendall had a small apartment only for herself. She didn't socialize with her neighbours. They didn't even know her name. At work, she would lock herself in her office for most of the day. When she did have to come out, she would speak to her employees but keep her words to a minimum. They would know what she wanted them to do, how she wanted them to get it done, but nothing more.

Her employees thought she was a bitch. She had even heard Shelby said it several times to her co-workers before she bonded with the pink energem. It hurt Kendall to hear people think so poorly of her, but she couldn't blame them. She was a bitch. She didn't care about them.

Then, she found Koda. He had been a perfectly preserved caveman. So many scientists wanted him for their research. Kendall had been one of them. But when he was accidentally thawed and came to life, he was no longer research – not to Kendall at least. She had saved him from the scientists and taken him under her wing. Back then, Koda knew no English and everything about the modern world frightened him. Kendall too was scared. She had a prehistoric human to care for and she needed him to be able to trust her if he was to survive at all in this time.

Fortunately, Koda was a gentle giant. When it became clear to him that Kendall would not harm him, he grew attached to her. It was why she let him live in her lab. Not only did the caves resemble somewhat his home, but for the first few months Kendall couldn't leave Koda's side without him having some type of panic attack and trash whatever room he was in. Since she was working on tracking down the energems and she did spend most of her days in the lab, she kept him there.

As Koda adapted to the modern world, he began to feel lonely. There was less and less for him to discover to keep him busy. And the more he tried to be independent and the more he failed at doing so, the more he began to feel alone. Kendall watched him sit for hours in his caves, painting pictures of his family and staring longingly at all he had left of them.

She knew that loneliness and that pain. She knew how unbearable it was. Despite every part of her head telling her not to get too attached to the caveman, she reached out to him. Koda was her first friend. She became his family and him hers. Kendall promised she would always look out for him, and she would do everything to make this new world feel a little more like home to him. And as she did that, Koda became happy again. There were still times he missed home: and Kendall couldn't blame him. There was no way for him to go back. However, Koda grew stronger and adapted to this time far better than Kendall ever expected.

She had protected him. In return, he swore to protect her. Sometimes, it created a bigger mess than whatever had threatened her, especially in the lab. Kendall had times where she would accidentally shock or hurt herself and Koda would react violently towards whatever it was she was working in. Yet, he was always gentle with her. Kendall started to believe he would stick around. She didn't need to worry he would abandon her.

Then she met Chase and boy did he drive her crazy. He was unfocused and way too easy-going for someone with the power to protect the planet and quite possibly the universe. And despite her insistence he call her Ms. Morgan, he always refused. At first, Chase would spend more time flirting with girls than he would training and working combined. Kendall couldn't believe any energem in its right mind would choose him. But as she got to know him a little better, she saw he was more like her than she thought.

He cared for Koda. He had to, of course. Koda was his teammate. As such, they needed each other. However, it went beyond just Ranger loyalty. When Koda did freak out over something unfamiliar, Chase had a way of calming him down. It wasn't quite like how Kendall could do it – Chase and Koda didn't share that same bond. However, Chase would never laugh at his new friend's confusion over the simplest, harmless of things. He never mocked Koda for not knowing how to wear a hat, or for getting lost just walking across the street. He didn't even get mad when Koda accidentally tripped on his skateboard, and responded by violently tearing it apart. Chase simply assured him he would learn about these new things over time.

And he reached out to Koda, in a way Kendall didn't think was possible. Chase was new to the United States. He had come over after bonding with his energem, when something in his heart told him he was needed on the other side of the planet. As a result, there was a lot that Chase wasn't used to, that everyone else around him seemed completely comfortable with. If something about the new world bothered Koda, Chase would bring up a piece of American culture that he didn't understand. Quite often, it was something that also bothered Koda, and the two of them would laugh about how crazy their new home was.

However, there was something else about Chase that drew Kendall in. The more he talked to Koda about how unfamiliar this new country was to him, the more Kendall could see Chase too felt lonely. He had left his family on the other side of the planet, and video calls and emails weren't enough to keep his spirits up at times. In Amber Beach, Chase was alone, but he didn't want to be. He admitted one day that he didn't want to call Kendall by her last name because she was the closest thing to a friend he had on this side of the world, and friends didn't refer to each other as Ms. or Mr.

Kendall agreed, eventually. She had opted to have any Rangers she met call her by her last name to keep some distance between them. They had a dangerous job, and they were likely to come from different parts of the world. One way or another, they would leave her eventually. She didn't want her heart to break again.

But Chase was different. Always had been, and now Kendall knew he always would be.

Eventually, the rest of her current team joined. And the longer they stayed at the museum, the more they got to know her. As they got to know her, they began feeling fiercely protective. Never as much as Koda, and not quite as much as was Chase, but it more than enough. They protected her against her father, against anyone else they thought wanted to hurt her. They even protected her against the aliens, beyond just their regular duties. Kendall had a team watching her back. Then she realized they were her friends.

Then, they became family. They were the very thing she feared. At time still it scared her. However, she found herself enjoying it more and more.

She wouldn't lose them now.

A door opened before her and Kendall looked inside the room. It was Sledge's prison and hundreds, if not thousands of monsters were locked in cells. Kendall didn't feel any sympathy for them, but had to imagine how uncomfortable it must be to be trapped for all those years, maybe even millenniums. Keeper did mention Sledge being a bounty hunter when he had lost the energems. Some of these monsters could have been locked in cells since dinosaurs walked the Earth.

But Kendall didn't care for them. She wouldn't. She was only looking for two people.

"Chase! Cammy!" she cried, hoping her voice would be louder than the cries of the trapped aliens. She didn't hear Chase or Cammy calling back to her, but couldn't assume they weren't here. She walked in, taking extra care not to get too close to any of the cells. She didn't want any monsters to grab her.

"Come on. Come on," she begged, looking inside every cell, making sure she wouldn't miss her friends. The hallway that contained the cells was long, but Kendall walked the entire way. When she reached the end, she saw there was only one cell left, and it was marked danger. She couldn't see inside without getting closer.

"Chase! Cammy!" she called and suddenly heard movement from inside. Something rushed to the front of the cell, causing Kendall to jump back. If it was an alien, she didn't want to get caught.

"Kendall!" a little hand reached out. The hand was red, blistered and swollen, but Kendall recognized it. She rushed back, touching it gently.

"Cammy, is that you?"

"I want to go home," Cammy sobbed. Kendall nodded her head.

"That's what I'm here for. Is Chase with you?"

"Right here," his voice called and Kendall breathed a sigh of relief. She had found her friends, now she just needed to get them home.

"Are you okay?"

"Better once we're out of here," Chase responded. "Do you have a key?"

Kendall shook her head. She hadn't even thought about looking for a key. She glanced around the prison before realizing Sledge would be stupid to keep a key near any prisoner. They all looked different and all had different powers. One of them could be able to grab the key if it stayed close by.

"I'll have to find it," Kendall said and let go of Cammy's hand, causing the little girl to scream. Chase must have taken her because Kendall could hear him trying to calm her down. She hated to leave, but knew she had to do it. She turned around and then gulped.

Before her, Sledge stood, and he had his new blaster aimed right for her chest. Kendall dropped her sabre and put her hands up.

"Hand it over," Sledge demanded and she knew he meant her energem. But she shook her head.

"Let my friends go."

"There will be no bargaining," he told her. "This is my ship, and you, Ranger, are all alone. Hand over the energem, or your refusal will be the last thing you do."

The blaster powered up. It seemed the energems had recovered enough energy that Sledge could shoot her. If he did, not only would he kill her, but he would very likely destroy the cell behind her. Chase and Cammy would be dead too.

"If you want it so bad, just take it," Kendall said and suddenly started to run towards Sledge. The closer she got, the more he hesitated to fire. Anyone close to the blast point would be taken out along with the target. The closer Kendall got to him, the more likely he was to kill himself.

So he dropped his blaster and decided to take her out the same way he had done the others who challenged him. He would fight.

He had never lost a fight.


	5. The One Left Behind

Chase held Cammy tightly in the back corner of the cell. They could hear the battle going on outside and through little holes they could see Sledge was winning. Kendall was getting her ass kicked. However, she refused to stay down. She refused to let Sledge near her energem as long as he and Cammy remained in the cell. She made it very clear Sledge would not get the energem unless her friends were free.

"She's tough, Cam," Chase promised the little girl as another cry was heard. Other prisoners were cheering, though Chase couldn't tell who for. If Kendall did defeat Sledge, their captor would be dead. But if Sledge won, he was sure to punish anyone who stood against him.

Suddenly, there was a cry from Sledge. Not one of pain. He was so heavily armoured, it was tough to cause him any form of injury. It sounded like one of disbelief and worry. Shortly after, Chase heard something hit the bars of his cell. Curious, he let go of Cammy, told her not to move and crawled to the front of his prison. Reaching out, he felt a blaster.

"The energems!" Chase said softly to himself, and stuck his other hand out to try and find the energems in the weapon.

"Hurry up!" Kendall shouted to him and Chase peeked out. He could barely make out Kendall standing against Sledge, stopping the overgrown brute from tearing the blaster away from Chase. She seemed weak on her feet. She was tired for sure from the fight and she was bound to be in pain. Chase knew he had to work quickly.

"Energems detected," he heard a robotic voice say and then a metallic claw pushed his hand out of the way. Chase frowned, wondering what could have been impeding him when suddenly he heard the voice again. "Black Energem found."

"I love you, Get-Bot," Chase smiled and felt the device place his energem in his hand.

"Blue energem found," the Get-Bot said and another energem was put in his hand. "Red energem, pink energem, green energem and gold energem found."

Chase felt all six energems resting in both his hands and smiled. He took the black one for himself, clipping it back onto his necklace before he raced back to Cammy.

"Hold these tight," he told her. Cammy accepted them fearfully. Chase smiled at her.

"We're breaking out of here," he said. "Energize!"

A bright light filled the room. Cammy covered her eyes and pulled the five energems close to her chest until the light faded. Then, when she looked up, she saw the black Ranger standing before her.

"My energems!" Sledge shouted angrily and suddenly the door to the cell opened. Sledge was met with the black Ranger and seemed to hesitate. He growled, puffing his chest. "Hand them over, Ranger!"

"You know, I'd really love to," Chase answered, smirking beneath his helmet. "But, you see, my boss would kill me if I did."

"I'll kill you if you don't!" Sledge roared and charged towards Chase. He readied himself to fight, but didn't need to. Sledge was suddenly shot in the back, and though it didn't seem to do him much harm, it did knock him over. He landed face first inside the cell. Chase looked down at the big green monster, but didn't question what had happened. He scooped Cammy up, taking her in his arms before racing out of the cell. There, he saw Kendall with her blaster in hand, waving for him to follow her. As he broke into a run, Kendall took out her Dino Com.

"I've got Chase, Cammy, and the energems! Rangers, head to the PlesioZord now!"

"It's a spaceship too?" Chase teased. Kendall grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. They needed to leave before Sledge could get up and come after him.

He was faster than Kendall expected. For someone so big and so heavily armoured, he could move at an impressive speed. However, he wasn't fast or agile enough. Kendall knew if she ran directly back to the PlesioZord, he would likely catch up to her, Chase and Cammy just enough that if he had a working blaster on hand, his aim would be good enough. So she had to shake him off first. She lead Chase down a few hallways, hoping all the turns would slow Sledge down further and confuse him as to their whereabouts.

However, Kendall didn't expect to find herself in the main room, where Poisandra, Curio, Wrench and Fury were all waiting. She couldn't turn back, unsure of how much distance was between her and Sldege, but she couldn't push on. She had barely survived Sledge. There was no way she and Chase could take on four monsters and whatever viviks came to their aid.

She turned to Chase, looking to him worriedly though her helmet, hoping he had a plan. Chase gave her a nod and handed Cammy over.

"I never miss," he smiled and took out his own blaster. He shot at the aliens, striking the ground by their feet, stopping their coming close for just a moment. He pushed Kendall with Cammy, "Run, I'll be right behind you."

"Chase..."

"Go!" he shouted. "Get Cammy home!"

Kendall nodded. Cammy needed to be her priority. She hugged her sister close and started to run across the room. There was a door on the other side and from there, Kendall was sure she would have a clear run to the docking bay. All the monsters would be behind her.

She ran as fast as he legs would carry her, especially when an alarm started to ring throughout the ship. Kendall had no idea what the alarms meant but it couldn't have been good. If an alarm went off inside her lab, it was a sign of danger for her and the Rangers. Inside the ship, it had to mean the same thing for the monsters.

"Kendall!" Cammy screamed.

"We're getting out!"

Kendall recognized a hallway and knew the PlesioZord was close. She ran straight into the docking bay and found the tunnel that would lead her to her Zord. She set Cammy down, pushing her to the door.

"Go!"

"No!"

"Camille Holt, get your ass inside that Zord, _now!_ " Kendall screamed, louder than she would like to ever scream at Cammy, especially when the little girl was afraid. However, it worked. Cammy started to run and made her way safely inside the Zord. The little girl would be safe, and five energems were now safe.

She just needed to get six Rangers to safety.

"Koda!" she shouted as loudly as she could not just because she was worried for him, but also because he had the best hearing. If he had chosen to stay close to his teammates, and if he could hear her, he would bring them all to her and the PlesioZord.

Before she could go looking for them, a swarm of viviks flooded the docking bay. Kendall stumbled backwards, unsure of how she would get herself out of this mess. She couldn't charge through the viviks to find her friends. Cammy was behind her, and though she was inside the Zord, there was no guarantee the viviks couldn't find a way in.

However, if she left, she would be abandoning all her friends. She shook her head. She couldn't do that.

"This is exhausting," she muttered to herself as she started to hold off the viviks. She would have to buy her friends time, though the alarm was sounding at a quick rate at this point. She wasn't sure how much time she had left.

"No hurt Kendall!"

Those words; she loved those three words. They always meant someone was watching her back. They always meant she was never alone. Viviks began to fly through the air as Koda, followed by the other four Rangers, fought their way through.

"Ms. Morgan..."

"I've got Cammy and the energems. Hurry inside!" she told her teammates and the Rangers listened without question. Kendall shot with her blaster any viviks that followed them as one by one the Rangers boarded the PlesioZord. Kendall followed them inside.

"Where's Chase?" Riley asked. Kendall glanced down the tunnel. He had promised he would be right behind her. As she shrugged her shoulders, an explosion rang through the tunnel and the PlesioZord was alerting Kendall that the same thing was happening throughout the whole ship.

It was going to blow, and if they didn't leave now, they would all go with it. Kendall had to make the toughest decision of her life. With tears in her eyes, she shut the door and commanded the PlesioZord head back to Earth.


	6. Coming Back Home

Kendall was coming back to the museum, having just dropped Cammy off with her parents. When they heard of the attacks on Amber Beach, they made their way home as quickly as they could to check up on their daughters. They tended to Cammy's injuries, with Mr. Fisher rushing the little girl to the hospital so her burn could be treated. Mrs. Fisher wanted to stay with Kendall and help her clean her wounds, but Kendall insisted she would be okay and made her way back to the museum.

Once she was in her lab, she looked around at the six Rangers before her. They were safe; a little banged up, but nothing that wouldn't heal by Christmas. However, moral was down.

They had beaten Sledge. Not only had his ship been blown to pieces, but it had crashed in the mountains on Earth. Even if the monsters had survived the ship blowing up, there was no way they could survive the impact.

But the same couldn't be said for Chase. He never made it onto the PlesioZord, which meant he had been on the ship when it blew up.

The Rangers won, but it didn't feel like they had. It felt like they had lost everything.

"Ms. Morgan..."

"I'm fine, Tyler," Kendall insisted as she walked to her laptop and resumed her scans for Chase or the black energem. She didn't care so much for the black energem as she did for Chase, but if he died, the least she could do was keep his energem safe. When the results came up with nothing, Kendall smashed her fist into her laptop.

Koda came to her side, hoping he could be of some comfort. He only served as a punching bag though as Kendall shoved him out of the way and took off.

Her next stop was the skate park. She knew she wouldn't find Chase there, but a part of her hoped she would. Often, when he missed his shift or forgot about training, Kendall would find him there. She couldn't count the number of times she had to drag him away, as well as the number of times she had threatened to snap his board in half if he continued to be so irresponsible. If Chase failed to show up at the lab and respond to any of the calls she made to his Dino Com, perhaps he was at the skate park.

There were a lot of people there; mostly teenagers who were trying to cope with the violent attacks on the city. Overall, the city was only slightly more damaged than it would be had the Rangers fought in the Megazord. But many lives had been lost and people were doing their best to move forward. For the skaters, that meant taking some time doing what they loved.

A lot of them looked like Chase, with their baseball caps, dark, loose fitted clothes. Kendall thought she saw him a couple of times, and had to stop herself running over when she realized he wasn't there. He was gone, likely forever.

When the skate park got to be too hard to bear, Kendall went home. She hoped, maybe, at home she wouldn't miss him so much. Even now that she was close with her teammates, she didn't invite them back to her apartment. She liked her space and her privacy. At her apartment, she expected to be alone.

She walked into her building and pushed the button for the elevator. Just as it was making its way down, a soft hand touched Kendall's shoulder. She turned around, hoping it was Chase coming to look for her. She found herself to be disappointed when she saw it was only Heckyl.

"I've been worried about you," he told her. Kendall shrugged him off. She didn't feel much like talking to anyone at this point. "Where have you been?" he continued to speak to her. Kendall sighed.

"Nowhere."

"Looks like you were caught in the middle of this disaster," Heckyl said, noting her injuries. "Have you been to the hospital yet?"

"Too crowded," it was the perfect excuse. After every attack, the hospital was full of people who needed or wanted help. It would be believable to anyone that Kendall hadn't sought treatment because the doctors were overrun with patients.

"I've got a first aid kit upstairs," Heckyl told her. "Someone should have a look at you."

"I'd really rather just be by myself," Kendall insisted. When the elevator doors opened, she stepped inside. Heckyl followed, carrying in two bags full of groceries. Kendall frowned, seeing the amount of food he had for himself. Living alone, she knew one person couldn't possibly go through that much food in a single week.

Then again, she did eat at the museum quite a bit.

"I have a guest over," Heckyl told her. "He eats quite a bit."

Kendall nodded her head and waited for the elevator to reach her floor. When it did, she quickly stepped out. Heckyl was right behind her. As she pulled out the key to her apartment, he stopped.

"Do you want to come over?" he asked. "I've just gotten a promotion at work. My boss left the company, so I'm in charge."

"I've had a rough day."

"All the more reason to celebrate," Heckyl offered, but Kendall shook her head, opened her door and walked into her apartment. Heckyl rolled his eyes when she was gone and continued to make his way to his own apartment.

"Patience," he told himself. "In time, I'll get everything I want."

He let himself into his apartment and walked to his kitchen. He set his bags down, looking to his guest on the couch in the other room.

"She's home," he said. His guest sat up.

"What?"

"Your friend a few apartments down, she's home. I told you she survived the attacks. But she's in a mood..."

"Mate, I owe you a big one," the guest sat, throwing off the blanket had had draped over his lap and jumping to his feet. He regretted getting up so quickly. His body was sore. It had only been a day since he had been pulled from the wreckage of Sledge's ship, but he didn't care for his pain. He had sent Kendall off on her own, hoping she would be able to get out while he destroyed all the consoles in the main room. He hoped it would mess with the ship, taking it and everyone inside it down. He didn't get to see if his friends made it out alive. He had only been able to hope.

When no one came looking for him, Chase thought maybe they hadn't survived. Maybe they had all died. Maybe it had been a mistake to let Kendall go by herself. He wanted badly to go to the lab and see for himself who was there, but with Heckyl tending to him it was next to impossible to leave the apartment. So Chase opted to wait. He knew he was in the building where Kendall lived and knew, eventually that if she was alive, she would come home.

"She won't come over," Heckyl said. "Maybe you should go talk to her."

Chase didn't need to be told twice. He promised Heckyl one more time that he owed him big before he raced out of his new friend's apartment. When he was gone, a blue light was emitted from Heckyl's hands.

"I'll let them enjoy this time," he smiled to himself before he disappeared. "It'll be all they have."

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Chase raced down to Kendall apartment. He knocked several times, but she wouldn't answer. He called through the door: "Kendall, open up! It's me!"

He heard footsteps racing on the other side then the door opened slightly. The chain was on, and Kendall used the small opening to be sure. When she saw it was Chase, she slammed the door shut.

"You know you missed me," Chase teased her. The door opened wide this time as Kendall jumped out, throwing herself into his arms.

"You're alive!"

"Barely," Chase nodded. Her hug wasn't tight. She was still down to one arm and she looked rather beat up herself. Still having her arm wrapped around him hurt a fair bit.

But it was a good kind of hurt. It was a hurt that promised him he was still alive, a hurt that meant she was alright.

Suddenly, she pulled away from him, slapping him on the chest.

"What the hell were you thinking!"

"I blew the ship up," Chase said. "It was all I could do."

He put his arms around her again, holding her close, "Thank goodness you made it out."

"Me?" Kendall asked, pulling away from him slightly, looking him in the eyes. "You said you would be right behind me. You... you idiot!"

"I tried, but... there are a lot of monsters."

"Were," Kendall said. "I ran the scans. Your idiotic plan got Sledge, Poisandra, Fury and everyone killed. You did it, dumb ass."

"How's Cammy?"

"Traumatized," Kendall muttered. "Her burn will heal though."

"And you're okay? Sledge didn't hurt you too bad, did he?"

Kendall shook her head. She put her arms around Chase and pulled him in close. She just wanted to be with him right now. Chase smiled and rested his head on hers.

"I'm sorry. I meant to follow you out, I swear."

"I love you," Kendall whispered. Chase's eyes widened. He grabbed her by the arms, pushing her away slightly.

"You... what?"

"A... a friendship love," Kendall stammered, her face growing red. Her eyes began to water. "I love you like... like Cammy and the Fishers and... I'm sorry, Chase, I didn't mean... Not like that, I just..."

Chase chuckled, shook his head and held her close once more.

"You rocked the purple energem, by the way," he told her with a smile. "You'll have to tell me how you managed to hold off Sledge for so long before I got the energem."

"I had to," Kendall whispered. "I couldn't let him win."

"I guess with Cammy in that cell..."

"Cammy and you," Kendall said. She pulled away from Chase and gestured inside her apartment. "Let me look after you..."

"Heckyl did already," Chase assured her. "Cammy was right, he does look a lot like a magician."

"Heckyl?"

"He's a good guy," Chase nodded. "Smart, too. When Sledge started attacking, he says he got the first bus out of town. There's not a scratch on him. We should have done the same with Cammy."

"Remind me later to thank him," Kendall said. She pulled Chase inside, closing the door. She brought him over to the couch. She sat him down then asked him if she could get anything for him. Chase shook his head.

"Just... sit with me."

"Are you sure? Chase, the bruises alone look unbearably..."

"I thought you were dead," Chase told her. "I figured if you were alive, you'd come for me."

"I got no signal from you or the energem..."

"Which explains why you didn't come, but I was still worried. I thought you were dead. I thought I made a huge mistake. So just... sit with me."

Kendall nodded her head. All she wanted was to be close to Chase right now too. She sat down next to him and rested her head against his chest while he put his arm around her.

"By the way," he whispered. "I love you too."

"Chase..."

"Friendship love," he assured her. "You're my best friend."

"What about Koda."

"He's my best caveman," Chase chuckled. "But, you know, I don't think I'd give up my energem for him. You think the big guy would understand that, right?"

"You shouldn't have given it up in the first place," Kendall frowned. Chase shook his head.

"What do you mean? Ms. Morgan, it all worked out," he smirked confidently. Kendall rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky it did. Next time, Chase, I'm telling you, I'm not worth it."

"Next time, I'm telling _you_ , you are worth it. So... whatever you do, don't let anymore aliens beat you to a pulp over some stupid rocks. We've more than proven we can get them back if need be. There's no coming back from losing you."

Kendall smiled, then buried her face in Chase's chest and let herself cry in front of him. Chase pulled her in close, kissed the top of her head and sat with her for the rest of the day.


End file.
